Principal Ebrahim Khan in his monumental work
‘Anecdotes from Islam’ quoting a few lines from Syed Amir Ali said that the
modern Europe was still working with the legacy, the Arabs left behind. And
similarly the people of the sub-continent are working with legacy, the
Britishers left behind.
British rule in the
Indian Sub-continent undoubtedly revolutionized the course of its history.
Moreover Europe with its excellence in every
hranch of inquiry has been enjoying predominance over other countries of the
world. Colonial rule was peripheral but its intellectual predominance is
global.
With the defeat of
Nawab Serajuddowllah in the battle of Plassey in 1757 India virtually
passed into British rule. British culture, British education, British way of
life how much were potential in the first half of the 19th century
can easily be manifest from the life and activity of Michael Modhusudan Datta,
one of the leaders of Young Bengal. During the Muslim rule in the India Persian
was the state language of the land. In 1836 English replaced Persian. Though
English Language was once only the colonial legacy, but today its rise as an
international language is exerting multidimensional influence upon us.
English has already
crossed its national boundary and as a language of science and technology its
grip is becoming stronger and stronger day by day. Recent statistics points to
the fact that about 350 million people speak English as a first language and another
300 million people use it as a second language. 60 countries of the world use
it as official and semiofficial language. A large number of international organizations
including International Olympic Committee hold meetings in English. It’s
important to take note of the fact that 80% of all the information in the
world’s computers is in English. So a lot of people connected with fast-moving
wheel of modern technology need to speak and write a standard form of English.
In most of the job advertisements a good working knowledge of English is asked
for.
English has no enmity with Bangla. Most of
the modern architects of Bengali language and literature excelled both in
Bengali and English. During the 19th and 20th centuries.
Bengali reached such a height under the colonial rule that seems to me amazing.
Even during Muslim rule our literary masterminds excelled in Persian and
Arabic. Even during British rule Raja Ram Mohon Ray wrote some books in Arabic
and Persian. Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah did honours in Sanskriti. Girish Chandra
Chandra Sen excelled in Arabic. And he translated the Holy Quran into Bengali.
So studying English is in no way inimical to Bangla. All are the excuses found
by the kingpins of the evil brain. They have no interest either in English or
Bengali.
Language is a vehicle for communication.
Minus communication language is dysfunctional. Language combines sound with
sight. Communicative competence lies with doing things with a language. A
learner should not feel worried about it. He should not be fastidious. The
dearth of efficient English teachers is very much perceptible. The teachers
like late Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan BA Distinction (English) and late Mokbul Hussain
in the context of Bhuapur High School even did not come up to fill in the gap.
Perhaps it will not sound irrelevant if I say that 4 students during British
Period and Pakistan Period stood first in the S.S.C equivalent examination
under Calcutta University
and Dhaka Board from a village school like Sontosh Jhannavi
High School in Tangail.
Among the four illustrious students, the people of Tangail mostly know the name
of Justice M.C. Ghosh I.C.S. Principal Ebrahim Khan with his rural background
did his M.A. in English from Calcutta
University in 1918.
Any educational institution first needs a set
of good teachers. Moreover a good syllabus properly designed is of great
importance. To master any language is a difficult thing. Our English syllabus
cannot produce a Bangladeshi Shakespeare. At best it can impart to him that
amount of knowledge, which can help him understand Shakespeare. One now requires
having a good working knowledge of English to seek good jobs nationally or
internationally. Where the overseas jobs are concerned, a good command of
English is greatly needed. Its very much puzzling that most of the learners
after 12 years’ toil can neither speak nor write English. Time is up to find an
answer to this debacle.
Present English syllabi starting from class 1
to 12 class are well designed and have the potentials to cope with the
prevailing situation. But the problem does not lie with the conception but with
the execution.
Reasons:
A lot of reasons working behind the
decline in the standard of English teaching in rural Bangladesh.
a) Expertise in
Teaching English is awe fully wanting in the countryside.
b) With the
independence in 1971, the general trend among the affluent in the rural areas
is to seek settlement in the towns and that has consequently created a void.
c) The lack of uniform
system has also created various standards affecting the general standard.
d) More up-to-date,
more scientific, more pragmatic syllabus is needed.
Remedies:
Training of the
teachers is not sufficient enough to cope with the changing tendencies of the
modern world. Monitoring is needed for its successful follow-up. A trained
teacher leaves behind his training at the training center and comes back with a
blank heart. So no qualitative change is perceptible.
A language learner should aim at four skills:
a)
Fist a learner should learn how to speak English in different situations.
Primary level is the foundation laying level. And from there speaking skill
should be prioritized. Experts should occasionally supervise the on-going
teaching process. The total teaching process should be inter-active. As the
‘Eloquent speaker and mute listener’ pros is not at all productive in the fitness of
things, interactive process should always be encouraged. A mentor accompanied
by a teacher in a class can help make class lively and vibrant. A recent
Article published in The Daily Star has shed light on this matter. This thing
may also be taken in to account.
b)
During our school days reading from the text was compulsory in the classes. We
should find out the best from the past.
c)
English papers of different categories should be a compulsory reading for the
students.
d)
Viva-voice should be help on speaking and reading skill. Effective test should
be made to judge the working knowledge of a student so far achieved.
e)
It is true that a sound knowledge in one’s mother language can help one
profusely to learn a foreign language. We can recall Goethe while he said ‘We
don’t know one language unless we know the two.’
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